Forgetful
by pseudonymical
Summary: Eric forgets Alan's birthday!  What's a forgetful man to do?


AN: Back with the EricAlan oneshots! Although, people seemed to like the "family" metaphor in "Almost Parental" and asked for more of it(which made my life, by the way) so I might write more using that. I think I got a request from a friend today, too, so I might be putting that out sometime soon.  
>I think I ended this one a bit too fast, and I might have OOC'd Eric and Will. Read and review, please! I did my best. It's mainly fluffy comedy(big surprise coming from me, right?). I apparently can't keep a story under a thousand words. I'll have to try that sometime. ^^'<br>AND ALSO AGAIN EDIT: I didn't know what Eric would get for Alan's birthday, so you'll see I carefully avoided telling you. 3

* * *

><p><strong>~ERIC~<strong>

"Wait, say what?" Eric's voice was panicked.

"It's Mr. Alan's birthday, didn't you know?" _Shit!_ _ I'd forgotten!_ Ron looked up at him, taken aback. "He is your partner..."

"Oh, belt up, Ron. I forgot, OK?"

"Forgot Alan's birthday?" Grell asked, plopping down onto Ron's desk. Eric, standing, clapped his hand to his forehead in disbelief. _What terrible luck, I'm so stupid_. "I would have thought you'd learned after the Christmas debacle of 1802, Eric."

"You forgot _Christmas_?" Ron said incredulously. He turned to Grell. "He forgot _Christmas_?"

"I don't think he pays much attention to the date. Not that he needs to, with such a handsome face~"

"That doesn't even make sense, Miss Grell." As the two of them bickered over Grell's relative nonsensicality, Eric had a somewhat silent breakdown. What the hell was he going to do about this? Birthdays... Alan's were a big deal, it meant he'd survived another year. He knew Alan wouldn't fuss about it, but he'd be disappointed, and no matter how he tried to hide it, Eric would see it and he'd feel terrible.

He'd last seen Alan the night before, but the younger man had yet to come into work. They hadn't ended up in the same apartment for once, a fact Eric was now intensely grateful for. If he'd seen Alan this morning, he wouldn't even be able to _pretend_ he'd remembered. As it stood, it was going to be nearly impossible. He wouldn't be able to take off work to scour London for a present, he was fairly certain the slave driver in Will wouldn't allow him to take leave "because I forgot my partner's birthday". Grell had tried that before, although, of course it hadn't worked, since Will _was_ his partner. Eric felt sure that even though he really _had_ forgotten Alan's birthday, Will still wouldn't approve his leave request. So...

What was a forgetful man to do?

"It makes more sense than your hair!"

"That doesn't make sense either!"

"Shut up, you two. Could you help me with something?" Eric asked.

**~ALAN~**

It was Alan's birthday, and Eric wasn't even at work. The brunette sighed, looking at his desk. Same as usual, a stack of papers left by William, a penholder with pens, a paperweight, a picture of Eric and him sitting on a park bench. Grell had taken the picture from a bush, you could see a leaf in the view of the camera. As soon as the flash had gone off(cameras had gotten so much more convenient since then), Eric had jumped up and chased Grell around the park, threatening grievous bodily harm to the redhead for interrupting their date. Alan remembered laughing, along with everyone else in the park, until Eric had caught Grell, at which point he'd had to intervene to save the flamboyant Reaper's life. Perhaps in gratitude, Grell had given him the picture, and it had sat on his desk since. Eric always teased him about it, since "the real me's sitting right here, sweetheart, you don't need a picture". But Alan liked it, and on his desk it would stay.

He picked up the top sheet, unsurprisingly not a "To Die" list. Because of Alan's illness, he suspected William was pulling him and Eric from as many Reaping jobs as he could. With Eric not here, Alan had known William would never give him active duty.

"Where's Eric?" He asked Ron as the blonde entered the room. He noticed idly that the stacks on Grell's desk and Ron's desk were much larger than his own. _Really, I can handle _paperwork_, William_.

"Oh, good morning, Mr. Alan!" Well, he wasn't surprised that Ron hadn't remembered his birthday. "I don't know where he is, I thought you'd know." Ron quirked his head a little to the side, looking much like a puppy.

"I don't. I suppose we'll be taking on his work?"

"Well, Miss Grell and Mr. Spears and I will be-it's your birthday, you're not doing anything." Alan felt a warm surge. They had remembered! That was gratifying, although Alan would have liked it if Eric had, too. Or, even if he'd bothered to show up. Alan had always known that Eric was bad with dates, he'd even missed Christmas one year. His reaction had been quite funny, though. He expected it would be even more amusing this time, but...

It would have been nice if he'd remembered anyway.

"Thanks, Ron." He said, real gratitude in his voice. Working on paperwork for too long gave him headaches, and this way he wouldn't have overtime.

"You're very welcome, Mr. Alan. I didn't get you anything, I'm sorry, I haven't had time."

"That's fine. Just your remembering is enough, Ron." He knew it sounded cheesy, but it was true. In any case, he didn't need presents, it was enough to just be here, live through another birthday. He returned to his work, his spirits raised a little. Maybe Eric had a legitimate reason for missing his birthday, though Alan couldn't think of one. It wasn't the end of the world, in any case.

**~ERIC~**

Eric jogged away from the Dispatch wing of the building. By some miracle, with the help of Grell and Ron, he'd managed to convince Will to give him at least part of the day off, in exchange for extreme amounts of overtime later. Which, he supposed, he deserved, since the Grell, Will, and Ron would have to pick up his slack. He entered the cafeteria, which was, for the most part, unused, especially in the morning. The Dispatch Center and Academy had this cafeteria, but for the most part it was used as a coffeehouse or a place to meet, rather than somewhere to actually eat.

"Hey." He said loudly, standing at the counter.

"I suppose you want coffee as well?" The cook, bad-tempered, said. "Or are you a tea person?"

"Actually, I'd like a cake."

"That's not on the menu." Why was this guy so surly, exactly?

"I _know_. I can read. I'd like you to make it, outside the menu." Eric matched the cook's exasperated tone.

"Why would I do that?"

"I'll pay for it, whatever you ask. It's my partner's birthday, and I need to..."

"Pretend you didn't forget?" Eric nodded, looking sheepish. "No can do. I'm not here to cover your ass."

"Oh, come on. It's not like you're going to get much other business today, and you know it." That increased the man's frown, and Eric knew he'd said the wrong thing.

"Yeah, well, you and your partner can both go to hell, uh... Didn't catch your name." The last, while usually benign, turned into an insult in this man's hands.

"Slingby. Probably because _I'm_ not wearing a nametag, 'Harry'." Alan would bemoan his rudeness, but Eric had no time for this idiot's asinine refusal. No one _used_ the damn cafeteria, and he could see the other workers in the back, playing cards. He had time, it'd probably make him a little less bored, anyway! The man looked at him differently now. _Yes, the intended effect!_ Eric couldn't help but feel slightly triumphant.

"Slingby? Eric Slingby? You're Alan's partner?" _How does he know Alan? How does he know I'm Alan's partner?_

"Yeah, but why does that matter?"

"Wow, you forgot Alan's birthday. And you're a total asshole, too. From how he talks about you, I'd never guess it." Eric fought to restrain his temper. _He must be a friend of Alan's_. _ ...That takes away from the victory. _"I'll do it, then. Not to save your ass, but if it's Alan's birthday, he deserves a cake." _I should have known it, I should have just mentioned Alan's name_. For someone so quiet, Alan seemed to have friends everywhere.

"You're seriously gonna do it, Harry?" One of the other staff called from the back.

"He was in my year at the Academy, helped me with a project that I didn't understand, just because we were friends. Nice guy. It's not like we'd really do much else, anyway, no one comes in here." Harry said back. Eric could feel that he hated using Eric's earlier words by his tone.

"Fine. Great. When should I come back and get it, and how much do you want?"

"Oh, it's gonna cost you, Slingby. I'm doing it for Alan, but _he's_ not paying."

_I really hate this guy._

**~ALAN~**

"Happy birthday, Alan darling!" Grell almost sang, sliding onto Alan's desk.

"Don't sit on my papers, Grell- but thank you." Alan said, smiling.

"Ooh, Alan, you're so _cute_ when you smile~" Grell ran a finger down Alan's chest.

"You're so lucky Eric isn't here." Ron said, from where he sat, bent over his papers. "He'd do unspeakable things to you."

"I _love_ it when men do unspeakable things to me." Grell replied, laying back on Alan's desk. "Especially handsome men."

"Grell! You're knocking things off! Go lie on your own desk!" Alan said, rescuing his picture and the glass penholder from where they were teetering on the edge of falling.

"But yours is so much more fun!"

"Sutcliff! Start working!" William's voice called from his office, the door of which, Alan noticed, was open. "You've already got overtime, I will give you more and enjoy it!"

"Oh, you don't enjoy anything." Alan heard Grell mutter as he climbed off the desk, knocking a few papers to the floor. "I got you a present, Alan!" He said in a more normal voice, retrieving from his desk a brightly wrapped box and bearing razor teeth in a grin. "Don't open it until you get home. It's for Eric to wear, but I think you'll like it~" Alan flushed. _Oh god, that bodes ill. I'm not sure I want to know what he got me._

"Uh, thanks, Grell. I'm sure I'll love it." _ Unless it's along the lines of what I'm thinking it is, then I'm going to have to burn it before Eric sees._

"Unless it's another dress, I think the one he got you last year was one too many for you." Ron put in, making Grell turn on him with a frown.

"I said _Eric_ would be wearing it, Ronald!"

"Then I really hope it's not a dress. I'm not sure Eric could pull it off." Ron shuddered. Alan snickered at the mental image, although he continued to reorganize his papers. No, Eric probably could _not_ pull off a dress.

"Sutcliff!" Grell jumped at the cry from William's office and scurried back over to his desk.

**~ERIC~**

"So, you're going to basically throw together a surprise party and pretend you remembered?"

"That's the plan." Eric sighed, sitting opposite the woman, an ex-girlfriend of his from the Academy. Thank god he'd managed to remain on good terms with her. Thank god she had the afternoon off. Thank god she was willing to help him. She was the fourth person he'd tried, and finally he'd found someone who'd be able to. "So, are you up for it?"

"I guess. It's not like I've got anything better to do, and I think I still owe you one. So, what do you want me to get?"

"Thanks so much, seriously. Here, I've written it down-" He handed her a paper. "Would you mind leaving it in Alan's apartment? Here's my key." He dropped it into her hand. "Leave it in the potted plant at the end of the hall."

"Yeah, sure, but this cancels out any other favors I owe you."

"I'm devastated. Thank you, you know how bad I am with dates."

"I do, 'dates' in both senses of the word."

"I was great on dates!" She arched an eyebrow skeptically. Eric made a face and gave her the finger. She only laughed.

"Well, I should get going, then. Remember your partner's birthday next year and you won't have this problem." _Oh, come on. I've known him for how many years now, and this is the first time I've forgotten. Cut me some slack_.

"Thanks again!" He called after her retreating back. She raised a hand to fend off the address. Eric stood up and checked his watch. Just in time to meet Ron. Sure enough, the youngest Reaper in their office waltzed up to him as soon as he entered the common area.

"Hello, Mr. Eric!"

"How'd it go?"

"Well, he thinks you've forgotten, since you're not there. He also thinks you're skipping. Both of which are true..." Ron quirked a grin when Eric glared at him. "He has no clue you were in earlier, though, or what you're doing now."

"OK, then. And you think you can get him out of the office for a good fifteen minutes so I can set up?"

"I think so, yes. Oh, and Miss Grell wanted me to tell you 'You realize this is a stupid idea?'. He also gave Mr. Alan a present."

"Oh god. And did he say-"

"'Don't open it until you get home'. Yup." Eric put his face in his hands and swore. "Mr. Alan looked pretty terrified."

"_I'm_ pretty terrified."

"So see you in about thirty minutes, then?"

Eric nodded.

**~ALAN~**

Alan sighed. Almost breaktime, and Eric still hadn't come in to work. He would be worried, but he knew Eric could take care of himself, and he was probably just skipping anyway. On my birthday. Grell and William were attending to a Reaping, and Ron was off somewhere, so, with Eric gone, it was lonely in the office. At least Ron should be back soon.

Alan sat back in his chair. He'd just finished his paperwork. With everyone but Ron out, the office had been so quiet, with no distractions, and he'd worked faster than usual. He'd take his break now, then he'd do some of Eric's work that the others had taken on.

"Mr. Alan!" Ron ran into the office. "You've got to come see this-"

"What is it?" Alan stood up. Ron grabbed him by the arm and towed him out of the office.

"Oh, it's _funny_! It's Miss Grell-he and Mr. William are back, and he's..." Ron broke out laughing. "Come see." As Ron dragged him out toward the common area, someone Alan had been friends with in the Academy passed them, carrying a large box. Hm. What was that about? What was Harry doing here?

Alan put it out of his mind when he saw Grell and William in the common area, attracting several laughing watchers. Grell had somehow managed to get ahold of William's glasses, and was prancing around with them, right out of the supervisor's reach. Their boss clearly couldn't see anything, and appeared to be blindly following the movements of what must be simply a large, red blur to him. The scene was funny in and of itself, but the dialogue between the two Reapers made it all the more entertaining.

"Sutcliff!" William was infuriated, hair disheveled and hands in clenched fists. Alan noted that there were no death scythes in evidence. Like the accomplished and experienced Reaper William was, he'd probably turned them in for a check. "Give those back!" William never got this mad at anyone but Grell, and it was always fun to watch their verbal-and physical-battles.

"Not until you kiss me, Willlll~" Grell sang, pulling a laugh out of the watching Reapers, Alan and Ron included. "Or you could tell me I'm pretty~" William lunged forwards, on the attack. Grell danced back, William's fingers missing him by inches.

"I will not!" William, incensed, swung his foot towards the redhead, who neatly ducked underneath it.

"Oh, moving so fast together with you, Will, it's gotten me all hot and sweaty!" Grell said, voice dripping with innuendo. Several people passing looked disgusted, but those watching were laughing. Suddenly, Grell's arms slid out of his robe, the bright red cloth falling to the ground. William almost made a move towards it before he realized that it no longer contained his partner. "Ooh, much better! And so much easier to _bend_ this way, too~"

The next sound out of William's mouth could only be described as a snarl.

**~ERIC~**

Setting up the office had been agonizing. He'd frozen at every slightest sound, sure it was the others en route back. Ron had promised him fifteen minutes, though, and it seemed he'd gotten that. When he'd snuck past Alan and Ron on their way down to the commons, he'd heard something about Will and Grell fighting. He was slightly put out that he'd missed it, but this was more important. _I bet Ron and Grell arranged this to give me time_. Sometimes, he really loved his coworkers. Usually they were just annoying. But they had their good points.

He looked up when he heard footsteps in the hallway outside the office. He shot up out of his chair and took his position by the door.

"Miss Grell, is your face OK?" Ron's voice said, coming closer to the office door.

"It hurts... You didn't have to hit me so hard, Will." Eric heard a giggle that could only be Alan. "It's not _funny_, Alan! He might have ruined my face!" Grell strode through the door first, clutching the right side of his face. He winked at Eric as he passed. Alan walked in next, looking a little taken aback at the sight greeting him. Eric snuck up behind him, grabbing his shoulders just as the younger man spoke.

"What is thi-_Ahh_!" Alan spun around as Eric's hands landed, his arm raised as though to hit his partner. "Eric?" His hand fell to his side. "What on earth-? Where've you _been_?" Eric decided to ignore his questions.

"Happy Birthday!" Alan's eyes widened.

"I thought you'd forgotten! And you didn't show up to work? It was just to make me think you'd forgotten, so you'd be able to surprise me!" Alan threw himself into Eric's arms. Ron and Grell snickered to each other, probably because they knew what had really happened.

"Er, not exactly, but OK." Alan looked puzzled, and Eric decided to steer the subject into less dangerous waters. "I have cake." Alan brightened. He always had had a sweet tooth, and Eric knew how to exploit that weakness. He had so far succeeded in faking his remembrance, which had to be considered a good thing.

**~ALAN~**

Alan opened the box-now that he thought about it, it was the one he'd seen Harry carrying. Eric had done all this for him! He had remembered! On top of the cake(which looked beautiful, in Alan's opinion) lay a scrap of paper. He read it out loud.

"'He didn't remember. -Harry.' Eric..." He asked, his initial shocked expression morphing into a little smirk.

"That stupid mothe-" Eric's face was a little red, Alan noticed.

"Eric!"

"Sorry, Alan. Yeah, I forgot. Happy Birthday anyway." He sounded embarrassed and sheepish. _OK, so he didn't remember_. "I did call in a few favors to pull this together, and talked down your idiot friend, though. Took me all morning. Forgive me?" His younger partner rolled his eyes. "Stop that, you jackass!" Eric burst out. Alan was shocked for a minute before he realized Eric wasn't talking to him, but to Grell, who, behind him, had been fake-swooning.

"Did you also have Grell steal William's glasses?"

"Well, it wasn't my idea, but it was to get you out of the office for a bit."

"That makes you responsible for my face being ruined!" Grell said loudly, flouncing over to his desk. Alan reached down to take hold of Eric's hand.

"It's OK. I'm happy." It was true. Despite Eric's not actually _remembering_ the day, he had put in a lot of work, and Alan appreciated it. How much overtime had he accrued by taking half the day off? How much had Harry made him pay for the cake, which wasn't a normal menu item? He had said _several_ favors, as well, so that assumed he'd done other things. Ron and Grell's part was obvious, as was the fact that none of them had bothered to tell William-that fight hadn't been staged on his end.

"There's a present in your apartment for you, too." God knows how he'd managed to work _that_. Alan smiled, leaning his head into Eric's shoulder.

_I love my forgetful man._


End file.
